Bedridden December
by BananaLover3902
Summary: It's Rin and Len's 14th birthday, and they're just having a good time hanging out together. But what happens when Len mysteriously gets sick a few days later? Is it just the stomach flu? Or maybe something a little more serious..?
1. Len, No Plastic Wrap On The Toilet

"Happy birthday!" they all shouted. Rin and Len smiled and looked at everyone.

"Arigato minna," Rin said. She laughed a little. "We weren't expecting a surprise party like this!" Len nodded in agreement. Their mom smiled and ruffled their hair. Len protested and fixed his hair afterwards, making his mom chuckle. She led them both over to a large table with present, a large two tiered vanilla cake, and two smaller, personalized cakes sitting on top of it. One of them was a fluffy orange carrot cake with orange frosting and little hard candies all around it shaped like oranges. The other was a yellow ice cream cake, Kaito's suggestion, with vanilla cake layered with bananas foster ice cream drenched in chocolate sauce and frosted with vanilla cream cheese frosting. Two candles topped each cake, both lit and spelling out the number 14. The guests of the twin's 14th birthday party all began singing "Happy Birthday" and when they finished both Rin and Len made a wish, not telling anyone what it was, and then blew out their candles.

The party commenced after everyone ate their cake, the guests taking slices from the large double tiered cake, and Rin and Len ate their personal cakes.

"I never knew how much I loved ice cream cakes until now," Len said, smiling to his sister. She laughed and replied, "I never knew how much I loved oranges until now!" They both laughed and ate their cakes, neither one quite able to finish the whole thing. Their mom put the leftover cakes in the fridge before announcing it was time to open presents. There was a whole mound to go through, after all.

After all the presents had been opened, Rin and Len decided it was time to start dancing. Rin plugged in her new stereo she got for her birthday and put on a Green Day CD Len got. She skipped to "American Idiot" and there was no problem dancing for anyone. Everyone had a lot of fun, staying way late through the night, partying and just having a good time.

Eventually it was time for everyone to go home, the twins were beat and their mom didn't want them to be too much of a pain in the morning. It was around one o'clock before everyone was cleared out. Rin and Len made sure to say goodbye to everyone.

Rin shut the door to their room, cluttered with boxes and wrapping paper, and proceeded to collapse on her bed in exhaustion.

"That was fun," she muttered into her pillow. She laughed a bit and turned over, closing her eyes. "Let's do it again." Her brother smiled at her and laid down on his bed, tired as well. He closed his eyes and relaxed, ready for bed. His breathing slowed and he rested his hands on his belly to feel his abdominal cavity expand and contract with each breath. He felt it expand more and more the deeper each breath was. He felt so relaxed...

"*Hiccup!*"

Rin jumped, her eyes flying open. She sat up and looked at her brother who had his hand covering his mouth, but an apparent smile underneath was very visible. She smiled back and threw a pillow at him lightly.

"You jerk, you scared the life out of me!" Len laughed at her and hiccuped again, finding it funny how she jumped like that.

"S-sor-*hiccup!*" He laughed and hiccuped again, unable to control himself. Rin laughed too, catching the infectious disease of laughter.

Their door opened and they both looked to see who it was. It was their mom.

"What's going on in here?" she asked.

Len hiccuped again and tried to explain. "W-*hiccup !*-We were just talking about something funny." Their mom nodded.

"Okay, you can talk more tomorrow, it's time for bed now. Come on, lights out." Rin pulled her jeans off, wearing just a pair of spandex underneath and shrugged off her shirt, preferring to sleep in her tank top. Len stripped down to his boxers as usual. He was always comfortable being this exposed around his sister. Both of them climbed into bed, finding it much easier to get comfortable tonight than other nights, likely because they're so exhaused.

Their mom flipped the light switch, watching them in the dark momentarily. Len hiccuped again and Rin turned over to face away from him, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders. Their mom figured she'd never get any sleep if he kept making noise like that. She walked over to him and put her hand on his bare back to get his attention. He looked up at her curiously, hiccuping again.

"You can come with me and get some water before you go to bed, help get rid of those hiccups," she offered. Len nodded and pulled the blanket down, getting out of bed and following her into the kitchen. She poured him a glass of water and held his nose while he drank it, almost making him spit it out from laughing. She laughed too, then let go and rubbed his back. His muscles were strong and tight, she could tell he was really working hard to get fit for track.

His hiccups were gone after he finished the glass and he handed it back to his mom, who put it in the sink to be washed later. Len started to walk away, but she called out to him.

"Hey," she said. He turned back around.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Come back here and give me a hug," she smiled. He smiled back and hugged her tightly.

"Goodnight Mom," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"Goodnight Baby," she said, kissing the top of his head.

Len went back to his room, opening the door as quietly as he could so he didn't accidentally wake his sister. He climbed back into bed and closed his eyes, calming down again and relaxing so he could sleep. His breathing slowed once more, but this time he was able to fall asleep peacefully.

A few days passed and nothing happened. The twin's played with their new stuff they got for their birthday, and Len often played pranks on his sister, one getting him in a bit of trouble (apparently you're not allowed to put plastic wrap on the toilet).

But finally New Years passed, and resolutions were made (but never kept) and January went on quite uneventfully.

One day Rin decided to get back at Len for his prank. And she wasn't going to be nice about it.

"Okay kids, time for bed!"

Rin and Len both heard their mom call from downstairs. They both quietly got ready for bed. Rin tried to start up a conversation with Len, be casual to not make him suspicious, but he didn't seem to want to talk. Rin began to wonder if he already knew about her prank...

Lights out, time for bed. Both twins lay down in their beds, neither one asleep. Rin was too excited to see his reaction when he found it. Pay back, son. She silently laughed.

Suddenly, she heard a noise. He was getting up. She smiled and almost sat up to watch, but decided that it might not be a pretty sight. Plastic wrapping a toilet is kinda mean, yeah, but he did it first. Then again, she could actually see it has plastic wrap on it since it was light out. All that really happened is she almost wet herself from having to take the time to remove it. He won't be able to see it in the dark. She was starting to regret doing it. She sat up to get out of bed, deciding to take it off before a mess was made, but stopped when she saw Len sitting on the edge of her bed.

She poked him. "What's up?" she asked. He breathed in a shaky breath and ran his fingers through his hair. Something was wrong. "What's the matter?" She was worried now.

Len looked at her, his eyes shiny, probably from tears threatening to spill over. Rin furrowed her brow in concern.

"I have a headache..." he mumbled. "And...my stomach hurts." he put his hand on his stomach as if to emphasize his pain. Rin put her hand on his back.

"Are you sick?" she asked. Len shrugged. Rin touched his forehead. Warm.

"Hang on a second, I'm gonna go get Mom, okay?" Len nodded and held his tummy. Rin got out of bed and watched him carefully as she walked out. She made her way down the hallway to their parent's room. She tapped on her mother's shoulder to get her attention. She looked up at her daughter.

"Hn? What is it, Sweetie?" she mumbled, her eyes heavy from sleep.

"Len isn't feeling very good," she stated. Her mom perked up a bit. "he's got a fever." Her mom quickly got out of bed and went into the twin's room. Len had lied down on Rin's bed in a fetal position, holding his stomach. He rubbed at it a little, trying to soothe the pain. Their mom put her hand on his forehead, surprising him. He closed his eyes, thinking it was Rin who came back.

"Rinny, my belly really hurts," he said in a pained voice, using his nickname for his sister that he used when they were really little. "I think..." He let out a sick burp and groaned. "Ohhh...excuse me. I think I might be sick."

Their mom became worried and sat down next to him, pulling him into her lap. He finally realized it was his mom he was talking to and not his sister and flushed red in embarrassment. He didn't like speaking to his mother about stuff like this, he felt much more comfortable around his sister. For everything, really.

"Hey baby," she said softly. She rocked him back and forth in her lap. "What hurts, honey? Tell me everything." Len let out another burp, saying excuse me.

"My belly hurts, I feel kinda queasy, and my head hurts..." He paused, rubbing his belly. It gurgled loudly and he put his hand over his mouth. He jumped out of his mother's arms and ran to the bathroom. Rin widened her eyes and quickly followed him. There was still plastic wrap on the toilet.

She saw him hunched over the toilet, but his hand was still over his mouth. She yanked him up into a standing position, making him wretch once, nothing coming up yet. She helped him lean over the sink and rubbed his back a few times.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll fix it, but for now you have to use the sink, okay? I'm so sorry..." Rin repeatedly apologized for making things that much tougher on her brother. He seemed to understand, as he moved his hand off his stomach to hold her hand. She squeezed it tight to offer him comfort. He moved his other hand off his mouth and put it on his stomach. He wretched again, but nothing came up again. He belched a long, loud, sick belch. He breathed heavily, heaving as hard as he could, trying to force out everything in his stomach.

Their mom peeked her head in the bathroom to see how he was doing. She frowned and rubbed his back.

"Come on, baby, you can do it," she encouraged him. Len tried again, this time brining up a bit of bile. Rin pushed on his belly a little, making him push out some of his dinner. He wretched again and brought up more. He breathed for a while, then belched again. He moaned and whimpered, his knees starting to buckle. He tried to say excuse me, but was interrupted by another bought of vomit. He panted and tried to say it again, but belched once more. He whimpered, his knees giving out, and his mom holding him up and helping him stand.

"Don't worry about it, Honey, we know you can't help it. Just let it all out."

He ripped another loud belch and more vomit came out as he did it. He puked for a few more minutes before he was finally done. He collapsed on the floor next to the sink and held his stomach. His mom picked him up and carried him back to the twin's room. She set him down on his bed and went off in search of the thermometer. Rin stayed in the bathroom and started taking the plastic wrap off the toilet paper.

Len lied down on the bed, feeling disoriented. He was dizzy and felt weak. It took all his energy to rub his stomach and bring a few burps up. He always burped when he was queasy. His doctor mentioned something about the stomach acid, something to do with that.

He turned onto his side and curled up into a ball. A ball of misery. He felt awful, truly awful. He felt like he was dying.

His headache acted up and made things even worse. He always hated headaches. There's almost nothing you can do for them without medicine. With a stomach ache you can at least rub your belly and that usually helps, but rubbing his head or using heat/ice packs never helped him once. He moaned, feeling tears in his eyes. He sniffed and tried not to cry. But it hurt so bad...

Suddenly, he felt a warm object behind him. He craned his neck to look over his shoulder to see what it was that was behind him, hurting his head more. It was Rin, spooning him. She snuggled up close and wrapped her arms around him, her arms covering his belly. She rubbed it gently to help him feel a bit better. Len relaxed and closed his eyes, melting into her soothing touch. He rested his hand on top of her's. Rin smiled at this action and rubbed small circles just beneath his belly button. Rubbing there helps with gas, so she figured she might try it to maybe help his poor digestive system out. With all that gurgling earlier and then him puking, it seems like it's in a bit of trouble there.

Len opened his mouth and breathed through it for a while, almost falling asleep from being so comfortable when suddenly something dropped in his stomach. He widened his eyes and gasped, Rin's fingers feeling like knives in his gut. He quickly pulled her hands away and sat up, clutching his belly and panting. Rin immediately sat up and put her hand on his back.

"What's the matter? Are you alright?"

Len's stomach gurgled loudly and he looked up at Rin.

"I think I need to use the bathroom," he replied quietly. Rin nodded in understanding and helped him up then led him to the bathroom.

"Do you need any help?" she asked, wanting to make sure he wouldn't make a mess. Len shook his head no and shooed her out. She closed the door, but didn't latch it, just in case she needed to get in there fast. She only had to push on the door to open it rather than turn the handle. She winced when she heard the sounds of his intestines trying their hardest to flood his system. He really must be feeling terrible, she thought to herself. I wonder what's wrong. Stomach flu? She guessed. She concluded that must be it, think into herself what she was gonna do to make him feel better while waiting for him to finish relieving himself.

About ten minutes had passed and he still wasn't out. Rin had sat down next to the door and waited. She never left, just in case he needed her. She wasn't worried either, because she could still hear him, so she knew nothing had happened.

Their mom saw Rin sitting next to the bathroom and sat down next to her. She pulled something out of her pocket.

"Finally found the thermometer," she said, giving her a tired smile. Rin returned it and they both waited for Len to finish.

It was maybe half an hour total before he was done. He exited the bathroom and both girls stood, glad to see he was done. Rin led him back to their room.

"Feel better?" she asked. Len nodded yes and did not put his hand on his stomach as he walked this time. Rin smiled at him. "That's great! I'm glad you're getting better Lenny." Len gave her a hopeful smile.

Once Len was back in bed, their mom stuck the thermometer in his mouth and they all waited to see what it read. A few minutes later it beeped and she took it out. Her face fell when she saw it and she stroked his arm lovingly.

"Oh, Honey," she said, frowning and kissing his cheek. "102°. You're really sick, Baby." Len's stomach gurgled and he grabbed his mother's hand and held it on his belly, closing his eyes. She frowned and rubbed his belly a bit. Len relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. It felt so good when someone rubbed his belly. Of course, he was still queasy and felt sick to his stomach, but a belly rub always make him relax, sick or not. It's just a little more enjoyable when he wasn't sick...

He involuntarily let out another burp, surprising himself and his sister. It was so calm until then. He made a small noise of strain, attempting to speak, but failing at first. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "I didn't mean to. I can't help it. Excuse me."

"It's okay, Baby, we know you can't help it. Don't worry about it. If it makes you feel better, just let it out."

Len nodded and allowed a string of burps to come out, not all of them loud but all of them definitely sick. He put a hand on his belly. Rin noticed it puffed out a little, which is unlike him, since his belly is usually flat.

"I have to use the restroom again," he said in a soft voice. The nodded and helped him up, taking him there. They waited yet again for him to finish, this time taking 23 minutes before he was done. His mom went downstairs to get some sleeping pills for him so he'd sleep tonight and rest up a bit. Rin took him back to their room by herself and laid down next to him, spooning him again while he burped and rubbed his belly.

"Hey Len?" she asked.

"Hm?

"How come you keep burping? I don't think you burp when you have the stomach flu normally."

Len hesitated before answering. "I always burp when I'm queasy. I don't mean to do it, it just sorta happens." he explained, then frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, I was just curious is all." She hugged him tight and pulled him close. "Just do whatever makes you feel better." Len smiled and closed his eyes.

"Medicine time," their mom said. She handed Len two pills for sleeping and a small glass of water. He took the pills with the water and handed the cup back to her. She gave him a bottle of peptobismol next. He took a swig from it, knowing he'd likely use the entire bottle by himself if he kept hurting like this.

Their mom felt his forehead with her hand again, pushing his hair up off his face and then trailed her hand down the side of his cheek before it came to rest on his chin.

"Sleep tight, okay Sweetheart?" She kissed his cheek and gave him a quick hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom," he replied, hugging her back. "Goodnight." They both let go.

"Goodnight," she said. She turned to Rin and did the same, then turned the lights out and left. Rin and Len slept next to each other in the same bed, just like they did when they were little. Rin kept Len warm in the night and he kept her safe. The hugged the whole night.

Until Len woke up at three am...


	2. I Woke Up Feeling Nauseous

Len shook Rin's shoulder, jarring her from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and yawned, wondering why she was waking up so early. Len shook her again more vigorously, wanting desperately for her to get up. Rin looked at him and seemed to get the message, as she jumped up into a sitting position and cupped her hands around his cheeks, asking what's wrong. Len frowned and hugged her. She hugged him back.

"He must just be feeling too sick to sleep," she mumbled to herself. Len shook his head, hearing what she had said just barely and disagreeing with it.

"N-no," he replied. He pulled away and held her hand. "I-I was asleep, but I woke up in the middle of the night feeling kinda nauseous...I..." He averted his gaze to the floor, seemingly embarrassed. Rin stroked his hand with her thumb to comfort him.

"You what?" she urged him to continue. He heaved a shaky sigh and slouched over.

"I threw up on the floor..." he mumbled. Rin held her breath for a moment and wondered if she heard him right. She found the courage to peer over the side of the bed to see if he was right and sure enough, there was a puddle of sticky fluid soaking into the carpet, creating an awful stench she hadn't noticed until she saw it. She sighed and wondered if the smell would ever come out of the carpet. She heard Len shuffle around on the bed and she turned back to look at him. He turned away from her, ashamed of himself. Rin pouted and hugged him from behind, her hands coming to rest on his belly. She rubbed in slow, large circles. Len sighed and put his hand over top her's.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. He stared at the floor, unwilling to look his sister in the eye. Rin nodded and hugged him tight, no longer rubbing.

"It's okay, I know you didn't do it on purpose. I'm not mad," she assured him. He frowned and looked at the mess he made. Rin looked too and sighed, making him turn away and hide his face. She carefully made her way off the bed and headed into her mom's room yet again. She shook her shoulder, her mom jumping into an alert sitting position.

"What's wrong?" she asked when she saw Rin looking at her. She had expected something had to happen in the middle of the night, she knew she wouldn't sleep peacefully.

"Len threw up," Rin replied. Then she added, "on the floor." Rin's mother closed her eyes for a moment and sighed, dreading having to clean up the vomit. A few seconds later, she moved the blanket to the side and made her way over to the twins' room. She was stopped for a moment when she noticed Len was holding his stomach with one hand and leaning over the side of the bed as if he were about to be sick again. Rin widened her eyes and watched her mother run off, confused at why she suddenly left. Once she got her senses back, she went over to Len and got back up on the bed and started rubbing his back. He coughed and sputtered as he gagged, trying his best to bring up whatever he could, but his stomach wouldn't comply. Their mom hurried back into the room with a trash can from the bathroom and handed it to Len. He leaned over it and hurled, Rin pulled back his hair so he wouldn't get puke on it. She tried her best to rub his back at the same time, but found it quite challenging. Their mother sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Len finished puking and lifted his head up, hiccuping and sniffling. There was a strand of saliva connecting his bottom lip to the edge of the trash can. Rin frowned and grabbed a tissue from the box she kept on her nightstand and wiped his face off. He sniffed a few more times and then Rin wiped his nose with a fresh tissue. She threw the used ones into the trash can, which thankfully had a bag in it, which made cleaning it much easier.

"Are you okay, Baby?" their mother asked as she tilted Len's chin up, The position his head was in made him want up up chuck right then and there, but he fought the urge and nodded, hoping she would let go. She nodded back and moved her hand. Len breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. His stomach was still killing him. He placed one hand over it and moaned, feeling slightly embarrassed. He had never moaned like that before. It certainly wan't a pleasure moan, that's for sure. But he felt strange expressing his pain like that. It was foreign, yet it felt natural. Rin could tell he was uncomfortable and leaned over to hug him again. Len opened his eyes to look at her, but looking too far to the right hurt his head and he had to close his eyes again. He moaned once more, then leaned into his sister's embrace. She was warm, he was cold as ice. He needed warmth.

While Rin comforted her brother, their mom, got to work on cleaning the carpet. It took a while, but she got it looking pretty decent after some scrubbing. When she was finished, she helped Len stand up, asked Rin to grab his blanket, and led him downstairs to the couch. She set up a cozy little spot for him by the heater, then helped him lie down. He moaned again and let out a small whine. Rin pouted. It was as if she could feel his pain. They're twins after all, their souls are connected...

Rin knelt down next to him and put her hand on his forehead. She was directly in front of him, so he didn't have to strain himself to look at her. He could make out that she was frowning, but he was very tired and his vision was starting to get fuzzy from lack of sleep.

"You're burning up," she told him. She smoothed back his hair and stroked the back of his head. He seemed to relax and closed his eyes again, soon drifting off into a heat hazy sleep, an uncomfortable dream state. When he woke up, it was light out. He sat up and stretched out, looking around. Nobody was there, but...Something told him they were still in the house.

Len smelled something cooking on the stove. Or in the oven, he didn't care. All he knew was he was hungry. Then he put his hand on his stomach, thinking otherwise. He still felt pretty nauseous...Now that he realized how nauseous he really was, the sweet smelling food suddenly disgusted him and he gagged at the stench. He covered his mouth with his hand and coughed. From the kitchen, his mother heard him coughing and went out to see what was going on. She grabbed a large bowl for just in case he needed to be sick.

"Len? Are you okay, Baby?" she called out. She saw him on the couch and pouted. "Aww, Baby..." She sat down next to him on the couch and put her hand on his forehead. Her eyebrows creased in concern. "You only seem to be getting hotter." She placed the bowl in his lap and went to grab the thermometer off the bathroom sink. When she came back to him, she saw he was looking a little better.

"Do you think it'll make you gag if I put this in your mouth?" She held up the thermometer. Len stared at it for a moment and contemplated his answer. Ultimately he said no and allowed her to take his temperature. He did feel a slight gag reflex, but not quite enough to induce vomiting.

She pulled it out of his mouth after it beeped. She frowned again. "103.2?" She looked at him worriedly. "Honey, I think I wanna take you to the hospital, just for a check up. I'm a little worried your fever is getting too high." She stroked his cheek lovingly and he nodded in response. He was getting worried as well. He'd never felt so sick in his life, and he wasn't so sure it was just the stomach flu. He agreed to letting his mom take him to the doctor's.

"I'll go get Rin and then we'll leave, okay?" she said. Len nodded and she left to get his sister. Len sighed, lying down and putting his arm over his eyes. Curiosity got the better of him and he grabbed the thermometer off the coffee table where his mom left it. He took his temperature once more.

103.5

Len curled up into a ball and whimpered from the pain in his head and his gut. He wanted to go to the hospital quickly and get help. He didn't want to stay like this for another moment. Not one more second.


	3. Ah, the men's room is the fourth door

Len felt a touch on his shoulder. He looked up to see Rin staring down at him, worried. She grabbed his hand and held it gently, squeezing it to show affection. Len sat up and leaned against her, too tired to stand, but wanting to be with his sister. Rin knelt down next to him and gave him a hug. Their mom sighed at the whole scene and waited by the door for a while to give them some time to be with each other. She knew very well how close the twins were to each other. She knew that Rin could do things that medicine couldn't. After a while of watching them hug, she walked over to Len and put her hand on his back. He groaned, knowing he'd have to get up. His mom put her arm under his legs and around his waist and lifted him up slowly. She didn't want to jostle him around too much, fearing it would make him feel worse.

Len rested his head against his mother's chest, more tired than ever. He groaned when she set him down in the car, putting his hand on his neck. His muscles were stiff and sore. He tried going back to the position he was in before, but the motion hurt worse and once he had lied his head down on the back of the seat, it was a searing pain. He wondered if he had slept on it wrong.

The ride to the hospital was torture. With every bump in the road his body moved, hurting his neck. He groaned and tried not lying with his head down, but he was too tired for that. Rin frowned while she watched him. She unbuckled her seat belt at a stop light and moved seats to the one right next to him rather than the front seat. She had chosen the front because she thought he might want some space to lie down, but he just looked so uncomfortable back there by himself. She carefully lied his head down in her lap and stroked his hair as they drove, shushing him and whispering comforting words to calm him down. He still felt the movement, but it was less than before now that he had Rin to rest his head on.

When they got to the hospital, Rin helped Len sit up first before getting out of the car. Len felt his neck crack and winced. He hated that noise, not to mention it hurt a lot. Rin grabbed his hand and helped him out, then wrapped her arm around his shoulder to aid him in walking. They made it to the door when Len put his hand on his stomach and sighed knowingly. He tugged on his mom's sleeve to get her attention. She looked at him and asked what he needed.

"I have to use the restroom again," he mumbled, embarrassed. Their mom hurried them inside and looked around for a bathroom. When she didn't find one, she told Rin to stay with Len by the chairs, telling her not to have him sit down, because he may not stand back up again since he's so tired, and asked the lady at the reception where the rest room was.

"There's one around the corner to the right, third door," she replied. She noticed the twins behind her and changed her mind. "Ah, the men's room is the fourth door." Their mom thanked her and went back to get her son to the restroom as quickly as she could.

Len took less time than before, which was good, maybe he was getting better. He came out looking very pale though. His face seemed to be drained of all color. His mom kissed his forehead, frowning when her lips touched the burning skin and she held his hand as they walked back into the waiting room. They sat down and waited for a doctor to come assist them. Len tried to lay his head down in his sister's lap again, but the chairs had arm rests that made it just about impossible. Rin scooted closer and leaned over so he could put his head on her shoulder, but they were still a little far apart for that. Len put his hand on his stomach and closed his eyes, leaning forward a bit. His mom took the hint and searched for a trash can. But like the search for the bathroom, she found none. She grew worried as she looked at him, his face becoming even more pale that before, if that was even possible. A doctor smiled at them and walked over to them. Relief came over her as he shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Phillips, am I seeing this young man over here?" He looked at Len, who still had his hand over his stomach and a pained look on his face. He nodded, wincing as the motion burned in his neck. Doctor Philips knelt down in front of him and looked up at him. Len tried to stay calm as he talked to him.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked. Len frowned and spoke in the loudest voice he could muster, which was but a small whisper despite his efforts.

"Not good," he said, pressing his hand into his stomach. His belly grumbled loudly, and he held it tighter, growing more pale.

"Does your tummy hurt?" Doctor Phillips asked, pressing his hand to Len's forehead. Len nodded, feeling the crack in his neck again. He winced. The doctor noticed this and thought to himself. He thought he might know what's wrong with him. He began asking questions, despite the fact that he was supposed to wheel the kid to a room and not do this in the lobby. "Have you been having diarrhea?" Len flushed red. He hated talking about it, or even mentioning the word. He slowly nodded, not looking at the doctor. Dr. Phillips noticed his discomfort and put his hand on his arm saying, "Hey, don't be embarrassed. I've heard it all before, it's nothing new to me. There's not a thing you could do to surprise me." He smiled warmly. Len sort of returned the smile, feeling a little more comfortable with it. I mean, he is a doctor. The doctor isn't going to judge you for your symptoms. Len quickly lost his smile, however. He leaned forward more, holding his stomach tighter and seething. Doctor Phillips stood up and put his hand on his back to help support him, looking around for a nurse as he did so. He saw Shelby and made eye contact with her. She started walking over when he signaled her to get a wheel chair. She nodded and turned back grab one. Once she turned the corner, he focused his attention back on Len, who seemed a little bit flustered. He saw his sister also put her hand on his stomach and was rubbing it for him. He gasped and looked at Dr. Phillips from where he stood in front of him, still hunched over. He frowned apologetically.

"Any nausea? Vomiting?" he asked, though he thought he might know the answer. And he got his answer soon enough.

Len heaved and barfed all over the doctor's shoes and the bottom of his pants. The doctor waited for him to finish before helping him stand and motioning for Shelby to help him into the wheel chair. He looked at the doctor with sad eyes and tried to say sorry, but his voice just wouldn't let him. Shelby wheeled him into a room and they waited for the doctor to come back, this time wearing different scrubs and shoes. Len had gained a bit of strength from resting while the doctor was gone and had the voice to apologize to the doctor for throwing up on him. Dr. Phillips was quick to forgive him. He sort of noticed he looked pale in the first place, it was his fault for not moving. Len still stared at the floor in shame.

"By any chance, have you eaten any dairy products by the company Tasty Treats?" Len looked confused. He never paid much attention to brand names, he just ate what his mom bought. But she luckily did pay attention.

"Ah, yes, we bought an ice cream cake from them for his birthday a few weeks ago," she informed the doctor, putting her hand on Len's shoulder. The doctor sighed and ran a finger through his hair. Len became worried.

"Well, we've been having a bunch of people coming in here complaining of abdominal pain, fever, muscle aches, and other like symptoms," he explained. "We believe there's been a listeria outbreak in that company from their dairy products. In your case, I believe it is from the ice cream in the cake." Len's mother frowned and rubbed Len's back, feeling sorry for her poor baby. She felt somewhat responsible for his pain, since she was the one who bought the cake for him.

"So he has food poisoning?" she asked. The doctor sighed again.

"It's a possibility," he said. "He may not have it, but I highly doubt it, since he ate food from that company. I'd like to take a blood test just in case though." The doctor got out the piece of rubber and asked Len to hold out his arm. He did so and held out his left arm. The doctor tied it around his arm by the elbow and found a vein, then swabbed his arm with disinfectant and inserted the needle, taking out the amount of blood he needed, then quickly put a cotton swab on it and a band aid over that.

"You may experience a bit of bruising where I put the needle, don't worry, that's totally normal," he explained to Len, who seemed a little shaken up. He must be afraid of needles.

Len's mother talked to Dr. Phillips as he worked. "So is there anything we can do to help him?" she asked. She didn't want him to suffer.

"Well, there's antibiotics that he can take and that'll help him heal up," he replied. "But I can't prescribe them unless I know he has it." She frowned and kept rubbing his back.

Len's eyelids drooped and he had trouble focusing on what was going on. He was really tired and wanted to go back to bed. Rin wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him closer to her. He laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, slowly falling asleep. Their mother noticed how tired he was and paused in talking to the doctor, just watching them. They were always so close. It seemed like nothing could pull them apart. Rin didn't mind that her brother was sick, in fact, she's trying to make him feel better. She tried to take care of him. She didn't stay away from him, she wanted to be closer than ever. It was so sweet to watch her be his nurse. Their mother smiled at them as Rin slowly kissed the top of his head and stroked his hair.

"Can we get him any over the counter medicine to help with the symptoms?" she asked Dr. Phillips in a soft voice, trying not to wake him.

"Try things like pepto bismol, tylenol, that sort of thing. But not too much, there are certain things in tylenol and other medicines like it that can hurt you if you overdose. Be very careful," he answered. She nodded and noted that. Dr. Phillips said he would contact them when the blood test results came in and wished that Len would be feeling better soon. Their mother smiled at him and thanked him.

Shelby came in with the wheel chair and offered to wheel him out to the car so he didn't have to wake up. Rin was hesitant, but agreed. She'd rather carry him.

When they got to the car, Rin helped him in and let him lay his head in her lap on the ride home again. He was asleep most of the way. But before they got home, he woke up feeling very ill. He sat up slowly with his hands over his stomach, hunching forward. Rin put her hand on his back and told Mom he looked like he would be sick. She pulled over and opened his door, helping him out of the car. She walked him to the side of the road where he proceeded to vomit once again. His mom rubbed his back patiently. She made a mental note to drive to the store once they were home and he was settled and in bed to get some ginger ale and leave Rin in charge of him. She trusted her to take good care of him, and he needed liquids in his system or he would get dehydrated fast.

He was done after a few minutes, but stayed hunched over with his hands on his stomach. His stomach gurgled and groaned. He burped a few times from the nausea, almost throwing up again. His mom pat his back some more, feeling sorry for him. He clutched his stomach tightly as it gurgled again.

"I have to use the restroom," he told her, in an almost panicked voice. He did not want to evacuate his bowels on the side of the road. His mom quickly grabbed a few tissues, wiped his face, then got him back in the car as quickly as she could and started driving. Len was too uncomfortable to lie down again. He needed to go badly. His family didn't necessarily mind when he let out some wind, since they knew he wasn't really in any position to use his manners and was in a lot of pain. Rin rubbed his back again and tried to relax him. He was in too much pain to be relaxed though.

They made it home just in time and Len burst into the bathroom immediately. Rin waited at the kitchen table for him to come out. Their mother decided to talk to her then.

"I'm going to run to the store to pick up some medicine and ginger ale and rice crackers, will you watch him while I'm gone?" she asked. Rin quickly nodded, wanting to help him out as much as possible. Her mom smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you so much, I'll be back as soon as I can, alright? Be good and help him out if he needs anything. I love you, I'll be back soon."

"Bye!" Rin shouted to her mother as the door closed. She decided to get Len a more comfortable place to sleep on the couch and dug out the old humidifier from the back of the closet as well as filling up a water bottle with hot water for him to hold on his stomach to make him feel a little better. She got some soft pillows and grabbed the thick duvet off of her bed and lied it on top on his blanket that was already on the couch, that way he didn't have to lay on the leather, which didn't have good temperature control. She was almost finished setting up when she heard her name being called. She rushed to the bathroom to see what he needed. The door was partially open, so she pushed on it and poked her head in, not bothered by the smell. Len was in the assumed position for using the toilet, well, the position for if you have a stomach ache anyway; hunched over with your arms around your stomach, chin above, on, or between your knees. Rin wondered what was wrong before she realized what had happened. She wondered why she didn't hear it. Len had thrown up on himself while he was using the restroom. She sighed and grabbed a few paper towels and began cleaning him up. It wouldn't be long before their mom returned home. She just needed to last a little over a half an hour. She nodded to herself. She could do it.


	4. You Make the Pain Go Away

**A/N: You have no idea how painful it was for me to name the company "Tasty Treats". *shudders* I cringe at typing it. And when I went back and read it I cringed so hard XD But I couldn't think of anything better, so yeah. Tasty Treats. Ugh...**

Rin wiped Len's arms off first, since he didn't need to stand up yet for her to clean that. He was thankful that she didn't make him immediately stand. He wasn't ready yet. He definitely wasn't ready...He cringed as he held in what he didn't want his sister to hear, but his efforts were in vain as he couldn't force himself to hold it in even if he wanted to. Rin figured he was embarrassed, so she didn't say anything about it and just pretended it didn't happen. Len was thankful for that too.

"I think we should just give you a bath," Rin stated, looking at how much of a mess it would be to try and leave him in his filthy, sticky clothes. Len sort of agreed with her. He didn't want to be covered in vomit all day. But he still wasn't ready to leave the toilet.

"Rin, can you go for a little while?" he almost whispered, embarrassed. Rin didn't hear what he said, he spoke too quietly. She was focused on getting his arms mostly clean. He spoke her name a little louder.

"Rin?" Rin looked up, hearing her name. Len was giving her a look that she somehow understood what he wanted. She kissed his forehead and gave him a quick hug, planning on taking a bath with him later and not caring when she got dirty.

"Just yell if you need anything," she said. Len nodded and hunched over again. He waited for her to leave before relieving himself.

Rin was worried about here brother. Yeah, he was sick, kids get sick all the time, no big deal. But he was _really_ sick. She didn't think she'd ever seen someone in so much pain before in her life. She sighed and hugged her knees to her chest, sitting on the floor next to the bathroom. She faintly smelled like vomit.

Len moaned softly and winced. It was bad enough that he had to go through all this, the sudden stomach pains and urgent need to use the bathroom, but now it hurt to do it. That's just cruel, Len thought, wincing again. He felt a lot better than when he first went in, but his stomach still felt awful and the muscles hurt from over use. He wanted his sister to be there to make him feel better, but the thought of her being in there with him made him flush red in embarrassment. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. Not even his sister. Especially not his sister. He was supposed to be the brave one. The one to protect her and make sure she was safe. He was supposed to look out for her. How could he look out for her like this though...He was vulnerable, weak, unable to even care for himself. He was reduced to an infant who depended on other people to care for him. He couldn't possibly be his sister's protector like this...

Len frowned at these thoughts. He didn't want to be that type of person. He wanted to be the one to care for others, not make others care for him. He felt his vision blur, tears of frustration and pain welling in his eyes. He did not want to cry. He couldn't cry. Not now. Not while he was already weak. His body over ruled his will however and he shed tears anyway.

Rin perked up when she heard the faint sound of crying coming from the bathroom. He instincts kicked in and she opened the door, not caring about how awkward it might have been for some people. This was her brother, she didn't care. She was comfortable enough to be around him when he was like this and didn't think anything of it.

Len tried to shoo her away, but she wouldn't have it. Rin wrapped her arms around him tightly and rubbed his back, shushing him in an attempt to calm him down.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, holding him close to her chest. She used to hold him like that when they were little and there was a thunderstorm. He would always feel safe in her arms and would fall asleep together with her, worry free. Because she was there to protect him.

Len sniffed and quieted down. He realized something. He never was meant to protect Rin. She was meant to protect him. She had been the protector all along. She was always the one to cheer him up when he was sad. She was always the one to make him feel safe when he was scared. And she was always the one who made him feel better when he was ill. Len sniffed again and hugged her back tightly.

"I-I just wanted you to stay here with me," he stuttered, still crying a little. "I can't do it alone, it hurts. I just can't...I need you here with me. You make the pain go away."

Rin froze. She took in her brother's words. She smiled and rubbed his back in large, slow circles.

"Okay, I'll stay," she told him. She never wanted to leave in the first place. Len sniffed and nodded, glad she agreed to stay. He didn't necessarily mind that she was there for such an awkward moment for him, he knew she didn't care. And that made him confident enough to not care either.

When he was finally finished, he felt much better. He was still a little sore, and his stomach hurt a lot from over using those muscles, but he was still better off then than he was before. Rin took his hand and led him to the upstairs bathroom where the garden bath was and filled the tub with warm water. She helped him undress and then undressed as well, putting their clothes in the laundry and starting it. She helped him into the bath first and got him sitting down and comfortable before she stepped in. Len was mindful not to peek at her body. Just because she didn't mind didn't mean he thought it was okay to look. Once she was in, she scooted closer to Len and began washing his back.

"I can do it," Len argued, but Rin just ignored him and kept scrubbing until he was clean. Then she washed herself and their hair. Len felt very relaxed when her fingers scratched his scalp, it was calming and felt good. Huh. It had been a while since something felt good to Len. He wasn't quite used to it. He closed his eyes and dozed off for a bit, feeling sleepy. Rin smiled at him and pulled him close to her lying his head on her shoulder. She liked taking care of her baby brother. She felt happy when she did things that made him feel good. She felt like she was loved and needed by him. She wanted to protect her baby brother. She would do anything for him.

Their mom opened the front door and announced that she was home, and Rin heard her, then shouted that they were in the bath in response, accidentally waking Len. Their mother sighed when she saw the bathroom and shouted back an okay. She knew why they needed a bath...She found the mop and began cleaning the floor.

Len yawned and stretched out, sleepy. Rin rubbed his arm affectionately and asked him how he was feeling. He sighed, putting a hand on his belly.

"Honestly? Not so good," he answered. Rin pouted and tucked her arm underneath his and began rubbing his belly. He sighed at her touch and felt her hand melting the knots away. He was surprised when he suddenly belched, but also felt relief from that. Rin smiled at her accomplishment and kept rubbing his belly until he fell back asleep.


End file.
